The invention relates to an arrangement of labels, in particular an arrangement of labels on a label sheet, to assist in safe administration of pharmaceuticals to a patient. The invention is also directed to a method of monitoring administration of pharmaceuticals to a patient, using the arrangement of labels provided.
The invention also relates to a label, in particular to a label to assist in the transferral of information and/or to a label including information to assist in the administration by infusion of a pharmaceutical to a patient. The invention is also directed to a container, such as a syringe, including such a label and to a method of pharmaceutical administration using the label.
The labelling of pharmaceutical containers in order to provide selected doses of pharmaceuticals to patients is known. Difficulties can, however, be experienced when a number of pharmaceuticals have to be administered in a sequence to a patient. Methods and devices to ensure safety in surgical situations particularly surrounding anaesthetic administrations are important.
In operations involving the use of a number of drugs it is generally recommended that labels are used to identify the drugs (xe2x80x9cuser applied labelsxe2x80x9d). In such situations it can be difficult to find the label needed, the dispensers often run out of a commonly used label, it can be difficult to quickly establish exactly what drugs have been administered and what drugs still need to be administered. If an error of administration has occurred, it can be difficult to determine or remember exactly what drugs (e.g. anaesthetic drug) have been administered in order to allow a rapid assessment and accurate response.
Another difficulty that can be experienced is that after administration of a series of drugs, it is often time consuming to record the order or range of drugs that have been administered. Complex systems are available but these are not always practical to use. For example, field hospitals would be unlikely to have the ability to use complex recordal systems, particularly not when operating in difficult circumstances.
The usual manner of providing user applied labels for dispensers, such as syringes, is to have a stack of labels (usually in roll form) which are applied to each dispenser as the pharmaceutical is used. However, one difficulty with simply having a bulk storage of labels is that, particularly in operating theatres, there can be limited available space. Typically labels are provided from permanent or semi permanent label dispensers. Typically one dispenser is used for each drug that may be needed. These dispensers take up significant space and can also be a contamination source from one operation to another. Often a dispenser runs out of labels, sometimes in the middle of a procedure, creating difficulties for the user. Typically the containers are not arranged in any particular order.
There is therefore an incentive to provide a means for readily supplying labels that will also assist in improving the safety of drug administration.
In relation to the labels themselves, difficulties can also be experienced in ensuring that the correct drug is administered to the patient. Difficulties can also be experienced in calculating the amount of the drug required to be administered by continuous infusion at a defined rate over time, such difficulties are usually experienced where the pharmaceutical to be administered is a drug which must also take into account the body weight and other characteristics of the patient to whom the drug is administered.
One usual manner of identifying a drug to be used is to write on the syringe, or on a label for the, syringe, the name and amount of drug being, or to be, transferred from a vial containing that drug. This is the usual manner when a drug is to be diluted for infusion over time. As a result it is inevitable that a certain amount of human error will exist and mistakes in administration of those drugs can occur.
When the drug is to be administered by continuous, or intermittent, infusion at a set rate over time, administration devices such as infusion pumps are generally used which are designed to administer a certain volume of solution per unit of time. At present, the method for calculating the appropriate concentration of such a solution to ensure that the correct amount of drug per unit time is administered to a patient of a known weight is a complicated, although known, procedure. Most drugs are presented in containers (ampoules or vials) which contain a known amount of the drug. It is, however, essential that the calculation is correct otherwise difficulties will be experienced.
One method is to use computerised pumps, which calculate appropriate infusion rates on the basis of programmed information such as the patient""s weight, the amount of the drug and the volume of diluent. However these pumps are more expensive than standard infusion pumps, and errors can also occur in entering the variables needed to program the pump.
There is therefore an incentive for the provision of means to assist in the correct administration of such drugs.
It is an object of the invention to overcome or ameliorate some of the difficulties associated with the known art or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
In a first aspect the present invention provides a pharmaceutical label sheet, the sheet including a pre-selected arrangement of removable user applied labels wherein the sheet, when in use, is capable of assisting in the safe administration of pharmaceuticals.
Preferably, the pharmaceuticals are anaesthetic drugs.
Preferably, each label is colour and/or bar coded.
Preferably, the label sheet is capable of providing a record of pharmaceutical use for a particular procedure.
Preferably, the arrangement of labels is pre-selected based on the medical procedure to be performed and the labels are arranged in order of anticipated pharmaceutical use.
Preferably, the arrangement of labels includes a first column which provides a selection of pharmaceuticals defined by class and at least a second column which provides a selection based on relevant administration criteria.
Preferably, the arrangement of labels includes a column which provides a pre-selected specific pharmaceutical suitable for administration in each class.
Preferably, the arrangement of labels includes a column which provides a secondary pre-selected pharmaceutical suitable for administration in said class.
Preferably, for a given row of labels, the first label defines a class of pharmaceutical, and the second and subsequent labels define specific drugs belonging to that class. Preferably, the labels are adhesively backed and can be removed from a backing sheet.
Preferably, said labels are each adapted in size to be applied to a pharmaceutical administration device.
Preferably, said labels are each adapted in size to be applied to a syringe.
In a further embodiment the present invention provides a method of monitoring administration of pharmaceuticals to a patient, including the steps of:
(a) selecting a sheet of pharmaceutical labels as defined above;
(b) selecting a label from the label sheet that corresponds to the pharmaceutical to be administered;
(c) applying the label to the administration device;
(d) administering the pharmaceutical, and repeating at least steps (b) to (d) as necessary until the required administration of pharmaceuticals to the patient is complete.
Preferably, the label sheet includes a backing layer and the method involves the step of removing a label from the backing layer.
Preferably, the details of the label are repeated on the backing layer, and are discernible after the label has been removed.
Preferably, the administration device is a syringe.
Preferably, the label includes a bar code that corresponds to pharmaceutical label and the method includes the step of scanning the bar code prior to, during or after administration of the pharmaceutical.
Preferably, administration of the pharmaceutical is recorded electronically and/or results in an oral confirmation of the pharmaceutical administered.
Preferably, the step of tracking the administration of one or more pharmaceuticals includes a visual determination of label use from said arrangement of labels.
Preferably, the step of tracking the administration of one or more pharmaceuticals includes the step of analysing data scanned from each bar code of each label, wherein said data is stored on a database.
In a second aspect the invention provides a label including weight based graduations thereon, the graduations being indicative of a volume of diluent which needs to be added to a known amount of a specific pharmaceutical, to produce the appropriate concentration for the pharmaceutical to be administered by continuous infusion, from a container of known dimensions.
In a further embodiment the invention provides an anaesthetic drug label, the label including weight based graduations and indicia specific to an anaesthetic drug, the weight based graduations being capable of accurately representing the dilution required for a specific amount of anaesthetic drug, for a specific infusion rate from an infusion container of specific dimensions.
In a further embodiment the invention provides a container including graduations thereon, the graduations being weight based and being indicative of the dilution required for a known amount of a specific pharmaceutical to be administered by infusion at a known rate from that container.
Preferably, the container is a syringe.
Preferably, the graduations are integral with the syringe.
Preferably, the graduations are applied to the syringe by way of a label.
Preferably, the graduations reflect a non-linear scale.
Preferably, the drug is an inotrope or vasodilator used in anaesthesia, intensive care and similar situations.
Preferably, the drug is dopamine, dobutamine, adrenaline, noradrenaline, milrinone, nitroglycerine, nitroprusside, isoprenaline, and the like.
Preferably, the graduations reflect the weight of patients in the preferred weight range of 140 kg to 28 kg and more preferably between 110 kg and 28 kg.
Preferably, one label is used for more than one pharmaceutical.
In a further embodiment the invention provides a method of administration of an drug to a patient by way of infusion, the method including the step of determining the required dilution of a specified amount of the drug, in a syringe of known dimension, by use of a label including dilution graduations based on patient weight.
In broad terms the invention may also be seen to be a kit including a syringe having a graduated weight scale thereon, as described herein, together with a vial containing a known amount of a pharmaceutical.
Preferably, the label is adapted to receive a second label, the second label being adapted to be transferred from a drug container and to indicate the exact content of the drug container.
The invention in a third aspect provides a combination label including a primary label for attachment to a first container, the primary label including adhesive on a first side thereof and a secondary, removable, label attached to the second side thereof, the second side of the primary label also including suitable indicia to identify the content of the first container, the secondary label being adapted to be transferable to a second container and to include suitable indicia to identify the content of the first container once transferred to the second container.
Preferably, the suitable indicia on at least one of the primary or secondary labels includes a bar code.
Preferably, the bar code is adapted to import specific drug information to a computer system resulting in a record of the transferral being kept and, optionally, visual and/or oral confirmation of the drug being transferred.
In a further embodiment, the invention provides a method of accurately labelling a second container into which the contents of a first container are to be transferred, the first container including a combination label according to the third embodiment of the invention; the method including the steps of:
(a) transferring the contents, or part thereof, of the first container to the second container; and
(b) transferring the secondary label of the composite label from the first container to the second container.
Preferably, the first container is an ampoule or vial, the second container is a syringe and the contents transferred is an anaesthetic drug.
Further embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings.